THESAURUS DEEPER LOOK UPGRADE

Partly as a result, solar's contribution to Vietnam's power mix is set to drop to 8.5% of installed capacity by 2030, excluding rooftop panels, as other energy sources gain share under a power plan for this decade approved in June. Installed capacity from solar farms and rooftop panels stood at 19.4 GW by the end of 2020, but just 10.5 GW was in use on average at peak time in the heatwave, EVN says.Īnd few solar energy producers are hooked up to the grid, with many having waited years for tariff agreements. While solar forms a quarter of Vietnam's installed capacity after a surge in investment in renewable power in the previous decade, little of that has been tapped, due to delays in project approvals, lengthy tariff talks and regulatory uncertainty. Water levels at almost all northern hydropower plants are too low for them to run at more than a quarter of designed capacity, the industry ministry has said. That left the highly populated and industrialised north short of 4.35 GW during the heatwave, the government has said.Ĭoal-fired plants accounted for about 60% of electricity output last week, EVN data showed, and May imports of coal, at 4.5 million tonnes, were the highest since June 2020, according to Refinitiv data.īut even coal is falling short, as roughly 25% of capacity at such plants has been idled for repairs, the industry ministry said.Ī lack of rain has hit output of hydropower, the No.2 source of electricity, with some northern provinces receiving just about a fifth of last year's figure, weather data show. It has nearly 80 gigawatts (GW) of maximum installed power capacity, but the heatwave has cut output to less than half that at peak times, data for two-week averages to June 11 from state network operator EVN shows, or not even enough for normal days.Īverage peak demand has grown roughly fourfold since 2006 to 42.5 GW in 2021, an EVN presentation showed in February. 'Addressing power shortages requires more concerted efforts to ensure efficient decision-making process for electricity market reforms,' said Trang Nguyen, head of the Southeast Asia team at Australia's non-profit Climateworks Centre.īut against that backdrop it is unlikely renewable energy will come to the rescue any time soon, however.ĭespite a recent solar development binge, the Southeast Asian nation home to 100 million people is reliant on coal and hydropower. 'This is a very serious problem for South Korean companies operating in Vietnam.'Īnd European businesses urged the government this month to move quickly to tackle the power crisis.

'Many factories have had to suspend production due to severe power cuts, and the cuts are regular,' said Hong Sun, chairman of the Korean Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam.

THESAURUS DEEPER LOOK UPGRADE

The manufacturing hub hosts large factories run by tech firms Samsung (005930.KS) and Foxconn (2317.TW), among others, but has struggled to upgrade its grid, a key step to satisfy demand and lure companies diversifying from China and elsewhere.

HANOI, June 13 (Reuters) - Vietnam is battling electricity cuts caused by a heatwave that has exposed structural and bureaucratic problems limiting available power to half of installed capacity and crimping efforts to unlock $15.5 billion in global climate funding. Coal remains top source despite plans to halt its use.Investment in new projects slow, talks with G7 donors stalled.Vietnam used half its installed power capacity during crisis.

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